As initially reported by LA Weekly, and possibly to the chagrin of Jeff Sessions, the city of Los Angeles handed out its first recreational and medical marijuana licenses this past Friday, January 12. A medical shop in Woodland Hills was the recipient of the city’s first medical license, and a recreational dispensary in Studio City was the first to attain the city’s recreational license.

As previously covered, while it has been legal to purchase recreational cannabis since January 1, 2018 in the state of California, Los Angeles delayed this process for the city proper as it was finalizing its own licensing protocols. In West Hollywood, a separate municipal entity, for instance, one could purchase recreational cannabis at the turn of 2018 as your throat still recovered from belting out “Auld Lang Syne” one-too-many times the night before.

With the licenses being doled out by City Hall, cannabis-related businesses can begin in earnest to file their paperwork with first the city, to acquire those local permits, and then with state regulators to acquire that state license. As always, if you are a cannabis-business owner, or, “canna-business” (sorry) and have questions about what permits or regulations you need to meet (cultivation, manufacturing, labeling, et cetera) feel free to reach out to MMLG and get the right advice from the right experts.